Yes we had a clothesline back then and we have one now.
Not that we are eco-friendly but Rose still uses a clothesline
especially for blankets and other air friendly drying clothes
(sweaters, coats, etc.)
Nothing like the smell of clothes hung out to dry. The smell of
sunshine I guess.
Maybe you would like us as your Beverly Hillbilly neighbors?
John
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--- In dalton59@..., patricia lee <pjlee1117@...> wrote:
Just in from Don and Beth Johnson. Thought you would all enjoy this
one. I might add that I remember my mom sprinkling the clothes and rolling
them up and putting in the refrigerator till she got around to ironing them
on our mangel iron.
Any memories of clothes lines in your head? Also I remember using that
same clothes line with two indian blankets clipped to the line and pulled
out to make a tent. In fact it was one of the times I got in BIG trouble
cause I hammered clothes pins in the corners of the blanket for stakes and
made holes in the blankets. OH sweet memories. Please share some of
yours........
HOW TRUE!!
You have to be a certain age to appreciate this.
THE BASIC RULES FOR CLOTHESLINES:
(If you don't know what clotheslines are,
better skip this.)
1. You had to wash the clothes line before hanging any clothes--walk the
entire lengths of each line with a damp cloth around the lines.
2. You had to hang the clothes in a certain order, and always hang "whites"
with "whites," and hang them first.
3.. You never hung a shirt by the shoulders, always by the tail! What would
the neighbors think?
4. Wash day on a Monday! . .. . Never hang clothes on the Weekend, or
Sunday, for Heaven's sake!
5. Hang the sheets and towels on the outside lines so you could hide your
"unmentionables" in the middle (perverts & busybodies, y'know!).
6. It didn't matter if it was sub zero
weather....clothes would "freeze-dry."
7. Always gather the clothes pins when taking down dry clothes! Pins left on
the lines were "tacky!"
8. If you were efficient, you would line the clothes up so that each item
did not need two clothes pins, but shared one of the clothes pins with the
next washed item.
9. Clothes off of the line before dinner time, neatly folded in the clothes
basket, and ready to be ironed.
10. IRONED? Well, that's a whole other
subject!
A CLOTHESLINE POEM
A clothesline was a news forecast
To neighbors passing by,
There were no secrets you could keep
When clothes were hung to dry.
It also was a friendly link
For neighbors always knew,
If company had stopped on by
To spend a night or two.
For then you'd see the "fancy sheets"
And towels upon the line;
You'd see the "company table cloths"
With intricate designs.
The line announced a baby's birth
From folks who lived inside -
As brand new infant clothes were hung,
So carefully with pride!
The ages of the children could
So readily be known
By watching how the sizes changed,
You'd know how much they'd grown!
It also told when illness struck,
As extra sheets were hung;
Then nightclothes, and a bathrobe, too,
Haphazardly were strung.
It also said, "Gone on vacation now"
When lines hung limp and bare.
It told, "We're back!" when full lines sagged, with not an inch to spare!
New folks in town were scorned upon
If wash was dingy and gray,
As neighbors carefully raised their brows,
And looked the other way.
But clotheslines now are of the past,
For dryers make work much less.
Now what goes on inside a home
Is anybody's guess!
I really miss that way of life. It was a friendly sign.
When neighbors knew each other best by what hung on the line.
